I’d make a lousy Bedouin

July 10, 2009

I went to an estate sale today. It was on my way home from the grocery store.

I’d never been to an on site estate sale before. It was in a wonderful little craftsman bungalow just north of Alcatraz in Berkeley. The furniture was a great mix of funky seventies and older craftsman. This was not the home of a hipster. This was the home of someone who got furniture in the time it was made and kept it long enough for it to come back into fashion. There were books and records. ((I stopped myself from buying the Escoffer book because I DO NOT NEED IT. Can you tell I’m still trying to convince myself of that?)) There were canning jars and other odds and ends. The Le Creuset 9qt oval in flame was nice but I don’t need it. And the Underwood typewriter rocked but where would I keep it.

It was fun to wander around and look at the stuff. The Morris chair was so perfect but … again, where would it go? As I was getting ready to leave I just took a peak at the jewelry on the coffee table.

MISTAKE!

I was good. I picked it up. I looked at it. I put it down and walked out of the house. Then I turned around and walked back in to ask the price.

It looks like amber. It’s heavy and it feels cool to the touch. It’s 40 inches long, pearl strung (knots between the beads) and the clasp is just like the one on my mother’s pearls.

She said $45. I had $45 in cash on me so I bought it.

Should I have haggled? Maybe. But it was the first day of an estate sale. And an estate sale is not a yard sale. Besides. $45 works for me.

If it is amber then it’s worth at least twice if not three times that amount. And if it’s not? I really can’t tell. If it’s fake, it’s a brilliant fake.